which university course are you doing??

[cyan]

hi guys i have recently started my pg course and as part of a project I will be looking at which courses parents/parents-to-be are studying. need to get started on this asap. also how are you finding life juggling kids, finances and studying? any info would be greatly appreciated.

I'd be happy to help cyan.
I'm doing a midwifery degree course & I'm in y3 now. I've got 2 lo's (3&5). I've got a dh who works away in London & so we're coping by employing an au pair who is there for the out of hours shift childcare problem. Financially we're coping by begging on the streets . No serious, we cope by using overdrafts, credit cards & loans & hopefully I'll get a well paid job at the end of all of this. 2y ago when I started jobs were guaranteed in the nhs, but now...
All the best with your assignment

doing a masters of law- a one year program only. I have 5 kids, we moved to the uk from canada to do the course here at lse. My dh took a one year leave from his job in canada to do the childcare. Am enjoying it very much, but as time passes (only started in sept) find the younger children getting more upset to not have me around and dh expecting me to do more that I used to do. I am keeping an eye on that. Finance-wise, we saved for this for a few years so were ok but will have to do some catching up the next few years to bring our savings back up.

belgianmama... im am hoping to do full time masters in couple of years and the only way for us to handle childcare is to get an aupair like you did.. what sort of pay do you have to give them weekly? as i will be studying i wont be earning! and dh earns peanuts!!

Hi Cyan

I am doing a masters in psychology with the OU. I have just had to defer my end of course assignment for my latest course due to health issues. I personally find it quite hard to fit everything in. i have the time as the children are at school and I'm not currently working but its really the stress of meeting the demands of the course and the demands of my children and family life. With me not working finaces are tight to say the least but we figure that we are making an investment for the future as this qualification should help me get a well paid job.

Mine is

I'm also a student midwife and have just started year 2. I've got one ds (3.5) and am a single parent.

I've had to move back home to live with my parents whilst I complete the course - it eases a lot of the financial strain and I really couldn't do the course without their support (although they don't support me financially, I should clarify!!) I'm like belgianmama and hoping that a job will be in the offing soon after I qualify but the situation looks dodgy.

It's hard juggling it all but well worth it. I feel fulfilled (most of the time!) and love being busy. Ds seems to be managing quite well too

Dunno how that happened

I am in the 2nd yr of a 3yr degree in Journalism and Publishing studies and Psychology

I am a mother of 2, dd is almost 5 and ds is almost 2. My dh works full time, so my dd goes to school til 2pm and then a friend picks her up and drives her to an after schools club where she stays til 5pm when I pick her up. My 2yr old goes to a childminder, who charges £2 an hour and she has him from 9-5 3 days a week. Finances - I have a student loan to cover the cost of books and travel etc which will not be paid back until I am earning £15,000 a year (which will hopefully soon after I graduate!) And even then it's only a few pounds per month, not a lot. My fee's were paid for me as I am a mature student. My huband covers the cost of childcare, we don't get it paid for us as I am not actuallt employed, I choose to go and do the degree course, afaik, the lady explained it to me when I called about CTC, she said if I even worked a few hours a week I would get my childcare paid for me, but as it is I am only home at 5 3 days a week and I like to spend time with the children. It's not like we are down the wages I was earning, as I was a full time SAHM before I went to Uni. I love it! I find now in my 2nd year I am getting more involved, putting my name down for things, becoming class rep and student ambassador! I still am the main person who take care of the kids and the house, when we are all at home, DH likes to cook, but isn't so hot at cleaning up or hoovering etc so the main bulk of housework is left to me, which I do on my days off, or in the mornings before I head off to Uni. As for assignments... coming up close towhen they need to be handed in for, I sent ds to the childminder the other 2 days and sent dd to the club and head into the Uni and get it over and done with, if I do it at home there are too many distractions.

Sorry for rambling...

French we offer our au pairs a number of things:

1. we pay half of their return ticket
2. we pay £65 a month for full time work: about 35h depending on the week as every other week my dh is home & so au pair less needed + expenses e.g. bus ticket when taking dc's to school... & of course full board & her own room
3. use of a pay as you go mobile, however any top ups are for their own costs
4. we pay their telephone bills home, as long as they do not phone any mobiles & keep it within reason
5. we've also agreed to pay £10 towards a course if they wish so. Only one of them has taken us up on that one. Also most ESL courses are free anyway. Having au pairs can be an added stress, especially the searching for a suitable one. We've had quite a few now that cancel with weeks to go & once even on the day , leaving me with childcare problems when I'm on placement. Once they're here though they've all been brilliant so far & the children have really been bonding with them too .

2nd yr criminology and sociology ba, ds is 2

About to start PG chemistry enhancement then a PGCE Secondary Science. Have 2 ds (3+4) and have a dap (Darling Au Pair!!!!!). Found its the only childcare which was flexible enough for us (DH works shifts as do I until I start studying).
Frenchconnection. We pay them £65 per week ( has own,very small! room etc etc) I put £10 per month top up on her mob phone per month incase she needs to call me about the boys. I also paid 50% of her lang course fees which will be free as of Jan (she's Romanian).

So one of you pays £65 a month and the other £65 a week, why the big difference?

Sorry for butting in but I'm doing access o nursing and midwifery so need to know all these types of things for when (hopefully) I start the degree.

I am doing a Foundation Degree (1st 2 years of a BA Hons) at college (Roehampton University affiliate college) and I work full time as a baby unit senior nursery nurse. My dd is 2.10 and dh works/studies too.

We get round the childcare using friends and family. DH goes to college Tues and Weds nights and I go tues nights for about 7 hours so although it is few hours, it is classed as a full time course. I work 35 hours a week at nursery too, although I have to pay dd's fees out of any wages, which comes to £400 per month.

DH had to pay for his courses (Maths and English GCSE) but I was fortunate enough to get funding through the transformation fund so my course is paid for and I get help with books and equipment. The FdA is a work based degree hence the full time hours at work.

As for the housework, uforntunately that rarely gets done, what with the 20 hours home study I'm supposed to fit in every week, unless there is a special occasion lol. Sunday morning is usually the time for washing, ironing and toilet cleaning!

Flutterbee,
I think the ave going rate for an AP seems to be about £55-£70 per week for an ordinary AP working 25 hrs per week ans AP plus gets abit more for a few more hours.
My AP works mon-fri with flexible hours according to shift pattern ( we give her all weekends off as when I start my course I will be around and it keeps the whole situation sweet!)
She also does a night babysitting each week (most agencies etc say 2 per week) and helps with the housework (note mine only helps.... She keeps the kids room clean and tidy tidies the play room and vacuums the house a couple of times a week)
Not sure where you would find someone willing to work for £65 per month!!! But I would be interested to find out

I will be starting BSc Midwifery in February, but am presently doing an access to health course which finishes in 4 weeks.

I have 3 sons, 7, 6 and 3 yrs. I find juggling everything fine at the mo, as I have a very supportive husband and my mum doesn't work so has the children whenever I need her. This strong support network will follow me into my degree course so I hope it works as well as it has so far.

Oops only just now reread my post of many days ago. No I am not paying my au pair a pittance of £65 a month. No we give her £65 a WEEK any expenses + a course of her choice. She is an au pair plus by the way. Maybe we're due for a pay raise for au pairs, but 2.5y ago that was top rate for au pair plus.

Belgianmama
Had a feeling that was the case, quite glad as I was beginning to think mine was on a very cushy number!!!!!! We pay a bit over the odds because she is wonderful also we set up a separate broadband pc for her (and the kids) with web cam/ mic etc so she can keep in touch with all her friends and family at no cost to us (works a treat).

Hi syrup. Just out of curiousity, how long have you had your au pair? We find it a struggle recently to find someone, because we do it for both childcare and the language I am restricted to Dutch/Flemish au pairs. Most of them have been brilliant, but it is so hard to find one who wants to stay for longer than 6 months or so.

Belgianmama
Our AP has been with us for 3 months and is planning (I hope) to stay for a year and maybe more.
We got her through a gumtree ad after having hundreds of applicants but no follow up with Aupair world.
I expect it is harder to find one when you are a bit more restricted by language we are lucky as long as their english was ok we were not too fussy re nationality (however as it happens our AP speaks French, Italian,English a bit of Spanish Romanian and Latin!!!!!!!!!). To add insult to injury she is eventually going back to Romania to study medicine (is horrifically intelligent and is helping me with my PG Chemistry revision) is 19 years old and....... Really pretty ( if i didn't love her I would be forced to loath her!!)

I am in 2nd year of a BA Theology course at ICC in Glasgow, but my degree (ha! as if!) will be awarded by Aberdeen University. My dh is full time on the same course as me.

We moved to do the course, dh jacked in his job (was a GP Partner) and we are using the buying out money from his partnership to fund ourselves for this year (mainly spending it on having a nanny which has been a real lifesaver). We both managed to get direct entry into 2nd year of the course which means we can do the BA in 2 years instead of 3. Dh is also doing locums, mainly in the holidays, but also some weekends.

Its lots of fun, we are really enjoying it, but it is a lot of work and we dont have as much time for living the high life in Glasgow as we had hoped we would!

Would be happy to answer any other questions about it you have.

We also get our fees part paid by the saa, whic is helping.

i am 18 and doing a spanish degree (in my first year) at cardiff. i have a 5 month old ds and i am a single parent as well. i have a student loan, parents learning allowance and a fee loan. i also get 85% of childcare paid for me which is a £2 an hour childminder. am interested in getting a DAP, how many hours a week would you say yours look after the children syrup and belgianmama. i also have a waitressing job 2 nights a week to help with the money situation.